Will A Beard Grow Back and Look the Same After Facelift Surgery?

Each practitioner will have different recommendations about shaving and plastic surgery. I prefer a clean-shaven face before the procedure. However, you do not have to worry about your beard being in the “wrong place” after your facelift. The natural growth line of the beard and mustache are taken into consideration when planning where/how to lift. I hope this helps.

Male facelift and beardIn my practice I ask my male patients not to shave for 2 days prior to
facelift surgery. This allows for accurate assessment of existing beard
pattern. Proper planning and execution of surgery will leave the beard
essentially unchanged. The goal of male facelift to create a significant
youthful appearance and yet without any tell tale sings of surgery. There are
many special considerations in male facelift, and natural beard pattern is
just one of many.

As long as the incisions are planned carefully the growth should be normal after surgery.  Most surgeon prefer a shaved face before surgery.  

See the link below for results of male face/neck lift

My shaving instructions for a man are fairly simple: do not shave for 24 hours prior to a procedure.  A mustache dos not have to be shaved, but a beard should be shaved up to the jawline (not above it).  This allows for easier identification of anatomic boundaries. I ask men to shave with an electric razor starting at 1 week after surgery.  Since a Facelift involves repositioning of hair bearing skin, men must be aware that shaving closer to and slightly behind the ear will be a part of the postoperative result.

Mens beards generally grow back the same.  The sideburns may be altered and hair in front of and behind the ear may be closer to the ear itself

Our routine is that patients will shave the last time 48 hours before a face and neck lift because I want to be able see the outline of the normal facial hair. A mustache does not need to be shaved before the surgery. It is important to manage the beard appropriately during the facelift procedure so that it is not pulled into the ear or behind the ear where it is difficult to shave.

Normally, most surgeons will ask that you are clean shaven for surgical procedures. Regarding beard growth after a face lift, there may be slight changes to it; usually the surgeon takes beard growth into consideration when placing incisions. Most beards grow back generally the same with only minor, if any changes. "Dr. D"

While I prefer that my male patients shave their beards prior to a facelift, the mustache is of less importance, it will be all right if the beard is neatly trimmed to approximately a length of 5 mm. It is important for male patients to know who that In re-draping and pulling the skin of the neck, The hair bearing skin may become translocated to behind the ear, and some patients find that they need to shave behind the ears after a facelift. Good luck.

Plastic surgeons will vary in their approach to a beard in the performance of a facelift. The moustache is irrelevant and not in the actual area of surgery so it can stay almost regardless of its style. My approach is to have a finely cropped beard that is no more than 5mm to 7mms long if the man wants to keep some facial hair right after his facelift. If he does not, then it can be removed the morning of surgery.

Hair follicles are not sterile but it has been shown that shaving, not necessarily the face, before coming to the operating room increases the rate of infection. Current practice is to use electric clippers to shear the hair off just before the area id washed with surgical soap and covered with sterile surgical sheets before the procedure is started.

Peter A Aldea, MD